Month: April 2019

Earth Day was Monday the 22nd of this month. I was excited to celebrate it in my school because we have a spirit week dedicated to Earth Day. It is so important for us to have this day to acknowledge that the choices we make everyday effect our Earth. So really it is Earth Day everyday, but without a fancy title. In honor of Earth Day I thought why not blog about interesting facts about the Earth.

Earth was formed approximately 4.54 billion years ago.

The coldest place on Earth is Antartica. Temperatures can drop below 100 degrees F.

Scientists believe Earth may have had two moons.

The Dead Sea is the lowest point on land reaching 1,388 feet below sea level.

As glaciers melt because of climate change, we’re losing fresh water.

Oceans cover 70% of Earth’s surface, but humans have only explored 5% of that. This means 95% of Earth’s seas have never been seen.

 

I find myself checking labels on containers very often to see if something is recyclable. I have always been confused by the changing numbers inside the recycle sign. Some things can’t simply be thrown into a recycling bin. You actually should check with your local recycling to see what they take. I am lucky enough to have a recycling truck come to my house once a week and pick up the recycling. They have guidelines that should be followed like washing out your jars and cans. I thought I would share other ways to recycle things that can’t just be thrown into the recycling.

Clothes 

Clothing falls into the reuse section of recycling. You may not think of giving clothes to Goodwill or shelter for the homeless is recycling, but it is! Unwearable clothes can be donated to local animal shelters as well.

Glasses

In most areas of the United States your local Lions’s Club or eye care chain will collect these. Lenses are reground and given to someone in need.

Ink Cartridges 

Staples takes old ink cartridges and gives you money back to buy new ones. It is usually a 2 dollar reward.

Phones

Cell phones and older corded or office phones can easily be recycled. You can bring them into places like Verizon to recycle cell phones, and staples to recycle corded phones. You could donate your old cell phones to a program called HopeLine. It provides phones to domestic abuse survivors.

Batteries

Staples has a national battery recycling program so you can recycle at your local store. Ikea has recycling stations for them as well.

Holiday Lights

Home Depot recently launched a recycling program for Christmas lights. So if yours ever burn out you know what to do with them.

Makeup Containers

It takes such little time to go through makeup products. Clean them out and send them to brands like Mac, Origins, or Aveda for responsible disposal.

Fluorescent Light Bulbs

Without the proper disposal fluorescent light bulbs can leak mercury into the ground. You can recycle at a local Ikea.

Mattress

If you can find any mattress recycling factories near by they are recyclable. They break down the mattress and use it to make clothing or even wallpaper.

Crayons

Over 100,000 pounds of crayons enter landfills every year. You can donate your used crayons to Crazy Crayons in Colorado. Just ship them to the company.

Save the bees is a phrase referring to threats on bee populations. Eight species of bees have been placed on the endangered species list. The loss of population is often blamed on pesticides and Colony Collapse Disorder. Colony Collapse Disorder occurs when the majority of worker bees disappear and leave behind a queen. Bees are very beneficial and worth saving. They are the single most important pollinator of food crops in the world. About one third of food we consume relies on bee pollination. Other animals like birds, bats, and even insects rely on bees as a food source. Without bees we could lose avocados, soybeans, asparagus, broccoli, celery, squash, and sunflowers for oil, cucumbers, citrus fruit, peaches, kiwis, cherries, cranberries, and melons. So next time you come in contact with these insects do not kill them. Usually if you leave them alone they will leave you alone. You can actually take the initiative to help our buzzy friends. Planting flowers, herbs, and shrubs can benefit the species. Some bee friendly flowers are sunflowers, geraniums, dahlias, zinnias, cornflowers, and poppies. Helpful herbs can be lavender, thyme, rosemary, fennel, sage, and cilantro. Lastly the best shrubs that benefit bees are hibiscus, honeysuckle, hydrangea, and citrus plants.

I thought I’d fill my readers in on my life a bit and stray away from my typical content. I just enjoyed my last spring break as a high schooler. We thankfully had two weeks off of school. I was lucky enough to join my boyfriend and his family on a cruise the second week! His family was very generous and lovely the whole trip. It worked out perfectly that his cousins and their significant others came because we all get along really well. The cruise line that we took was Carnival. I really enjoyed this cruise line. They emphasized the environment many times while I was on board. The cruise stopped at two different ports in Mexico. This was my second time out of the country because last summer I traveled to Europe. The partially unpleasant part of our trip was the drive to New Orleans where we boarded the ship. We left a day early and rented a house in New Orleans. It gave us a chance to explore the French Quarter and stop at a few museums. I tried a seafood gumbo along with many other things during the cruise. A highlight of the cruise was it was all inclusive, so “free” food 24/7. But I loved the activities on board such as dive in movies, stand up comedy, live music, mini golf, and so much more. The best day of the trip was in Cozumel, Mexico. We were taken to a resort that you were able to snorkel with stingrays, swim with dolphins, and kayak. There was also free food and drinks where I got to try authentic Mexican cuisine. We all swam with dolphins and I had a blast. We got to interact with the dolphins, but we did not ride them. The best part was that there were babies! I was a little skeptical if swimming with dolphins was ethical, but the habitat they were kept in is nothing like Sea World. There was a ton of space with natural sand and rocks like you would find in the ocean. We stopped in Yucatan (Progreso), Mexico a day later where we mostly shopped. I loved experiencing new cultures. It may not have been the best way to experience it though because I would assume the areas we visited have been partially taken over by tourism. I am extremely thankful for the opportunity to travel, and hope to do it again sometime.